Inner tube tester



Jan. 8, 1952 w. A. BISHMAN INNER TUBE TESTER Filed Oct. 5, 1946 PatentedJan. 8, 1952 UNIT-El) srATEs PATENT 1 OFFICE Walter A. Bishm'an Osseo,Minn.

-Ap plication October 5, 1946, Serial No. 701,489

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a device for testing inner tubes such as arecustomarily used in pneumatic tires of various types of vehicles.

It is an object of the invention to provide a tester which will hold thetube in a generally upright position, i. e. the position which itassumes in a tire on a wheel, wherein the tube can be placed on thetester and a portion of the apparatus lowered to submerge at least aportion of the tube in a pan of water such as is generally found in anordinary automobile tire service station; and further to permit rotationof a portion of the support and the tube in order that successivesections of the tube can be submerged during the inspection operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide an inner tube tester whichcompletely supports the tube in an upright position and wherein the tubesupporting portion thereof can be releasably held in a lowered positionto keep the lower portion of the tube submerged without pressure on thepart of the operator, and the tube supporting portion of the tester canalso be moved to an elevated position with the tube out of the water,and maintained. therein without being supported by the operator.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a tube tester of thetype described above which is adaptable for use with a conventional tireservice station water pan which is usually of relatively narrowelongated proportions and wherein the tube supporting structure is orcan be closely associated with a water pan in such a way as to take upas little space as possible.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will morefully appear from the following description made in connection with theaccompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to thesame parts throughout the views, and, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the device showing a tubethereon with a water pan in longitudinal vertical section and the tubeholding unit in its lowered position in full lines and in its elevatedposition in dotted lines;

Figure 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken approximately onthe line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of the tubesupport pivotal mounting and stop structure;

Figure 4 is a rear elevational view of the structure shown in Figure 3;and

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken approximatelyon the line 5-5 of Figure 2.

The supporting frame of the apparatus includes a pair of upwardlyconverging rods 6 having bent-over lower ends 1 serving, as bases orfeet. As indicated in Figures l and 2 the bases I of the rods 6 may beplaced'over a conventional tube testing water pan 8 such as is found inmost tire service stations, and if desired the feet I may be secured tothe bottom of the pan 8 in any suitable manner such as by welding if thepan and tester are sold as a com-'- plete unit.

'The upper ends of the upwardly converging rods 6 are bent rearwardly orto the right as viewed in Figures 2 and 3, and as indicated at 9. Theupper bent ends 9 of the rods 6 are spaced slightly apart as shown inFigure 4 and are welded to the under side of the bridge portion ID of aninverted U-shaped bracket ll. Asbest shown in Figure 4, the right handor rear leg of the bracket H is cut off at two of its. corners l2 andI3.

Extending through the legs I4 and I5 of the bracket H and pivotedrelative thereto is the upper horizontal portion I6 of a crank II whichserves as a tube support mounting. .The crank i! has a verticalintermediate portion. lB and an outwardly extending relatively longhorizontal portion IS. A plurality of radial arms 20 extend from abearing 2| on the crank portion l9 and the bearing 2| and arms 20 arerotatable on said crank portion l9 as a unit, the radial arms 20' beingwelded to the bearing, as best shown in Figure 5. As illustrated inFigure 1, there are six arms provided although the number is notcritical.

Extending horizontally outwardly from each of the arms 20 is a rod 22and each of the rods 22 is bent inwardly slightly toward the horizontalrotational axis of the radial arm unit 20 as indicated at 23. It will beseen that the parallel rods 22 which extend outwardly from the radialrods or arms 20 lie at spaced points about a circle whose central axisis the axis of rotation of the bearing 2| about the horizontal elongatedcrank portion l9.

On the other horizontal crank portion l8 which is pivotally mounted inthe bracket H is an L- shaped stop member 24 which is fixed on the crankportion 16 to pivot therewith. As best illustrated in Figure 4, thehorizontal portion 24a of the stop member 24 will clear the upper andlower cut away corners l2 and I3 on the rear leg l5 of the bracket H.However, the horizontal stop portion 24a will strike the upper righthand portion of the bracket II as indicated by the dotted line showingin Figure 4, and it will permit swinging of the crank and the stopmember counterclockwise, as viewed in Figulre 4', until the horizontalstop portion 24a. strikes the lower right hand comer of the bracket legl5.

In operation the crank i1 is swung to its upper limit of movement whichwould be the dotted line position in- Figure 1 and the stop '24 will bein the dotted lineposition of Figure 4. The tube 25 is then slipped onthe horizontally disposed parallel rods 22, the inwardly bent ends 23facilitating the insertion of a tube thereon, it beingcontemplated thatthe circle described by the parallel portions of the horizontal rods 21be oi such diameter as to cause the rods 22 to frictionally engage thetube 25 and hold" the time rather a The outer portions of the 1 securelythereon. radial arms 20 serve as a backing against which the tube ispressed and thereby facilitating proper positioning of the tubeon thehorizontal rods 22 which with the radial arms 20 constitute thet'ubesupport per se. Thecrank arm i9 is then grasped and swung in aclockwise direction. as viewed in Figure 1', whereupon the tube supportwill swing downwardly with the crank portion 19 to immerse the lowerportion of the tube in the water in the tank 8, as illustrated in thefull line position of Figure 1 and also shown in Figure 2. The crank isswung until the horizontal stop portion 24a, assumes the position shownin Figure 4 which is past the rotational center of the crankThe'naturalbuoyancy of the inflated tube '25 will cause an upwardpressure and in view of the fact that the stop member 24 is over centerthe tube and its support will be maintained inthe lowered position abovementioned. The operator can inspectlthe tube portionwhich has beeninitially submerged and'then by rotating the spider made up of theradial arms 20 and the horizontal rods 22. which extend therefrom canbring successive portions of the tubeto a lowermost position beneath thesurface'of the water in the pan 8. Consequently, the operator does nothave to press downwardly on the tube as is necessary when testing isdone entirely by hand, and he can 4 devote his entire attention toinspection of the tube leaving both hands free to brush away bubbleswhich customarily accumulate when a dry inner'tube is placed in thewater." His inspection is, therefore, considerably facilitated and theoperator has the use of both hands as well as his eyes in making hisinspection.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made inthe formi details, arrangement and proportions of the various partswithout departing from the scope of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. Inv aninner tube tester for use in conjunction -with a water pan, asupporting standard, a shaft pivotallg carried by said standard abovethe lower portion thereof and having a crank portion ex- -tendingoutwardly therefrom to overlie the water pan,a tube engaging andsupporting unit rotatab'ly supported on said crank portion and means forselectively retaining said crank portion in raisedjandlowered positionabove and below the, axis of said shaft.

2,. The structure set forth in claim 1, said means comprising upper andlower stops carried by said standard and in the path of swingingmovement of said crank portion.

3. The structure set forth in claim 1, said means comprising upper andlower stops in the path of swinging movement of said crank portion,

- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,151,497 Bolte Mar. 21, 19392,203,688 Little June 11, 1940

